Brooke Dennis is one of many expat New Zealanders in London who have had to diversify their businesses over recent weeks. She’s one of the brains behind The Scrub Hub – an initiative created to provide scrubs to doctors when suppliers couldn’t meet demand.

For Brooke, COVID-19 has meant she can’t run the business, she set up only six months ago to provide a space for textile making. However, instead of wallowing in this she looked at what she could do to help.

The chance to do something to help came by way of a friend asking Brooke if she could sew some scrubs for one doctor. That one doctor’s request turned into creating hundreds of PPE-type scrubs for consultants across London. The scrubs are not certified PPE but instead are used by consultants and the like, who wanted to be easily identifiable and not be in their usual clothes for work.

Quality is not compromised. Brooke set out a standard for quality and craftsmanship – volunteers had to be very good sewers. She also uses cotton, because it’s better for the environment, as well as being comfortable and breathable.

Gabby is nearing the end of her 14-day managed isolation period on returning to NZ with her husband and two children, she's shared her experience to help New Zealanders prepare if they have to return:

"On arrival at Auckland, once you’ve cleared MPI and customs, you’re walked through the terminal to a waiting bus which goes straight to the hotel. Police and Aviation Security have a very visible presence. Everyone is very friendly. It’s pretty quick and painless.

One hotel was allocated per flight, with an overflow hotel in case there were too many people. We ended up at the overflow.

Joined the Board: May 2020

Role: Finance & Revenue Director

Length of time with the network: 6 years

Rachel is a qualified finance professional who currently works as a senior Mergers & Acquisitions Professional at Royal Mail Group. Her role sees her leading the execution of the North American growth strategy through the acquisition of companies in the US, as well as producing strategic insight for the board on key structural matters.

Rachel moved to London in 2011 on a supposed two-year secondment with PwC. However, like many kiwis she stayed on and moved around various finance roles within PwC, before venturing into Private Equity, where she evaluated investment opportunities and helped grow and improve the financial performance of the investments. 

Her broad experience within finance spans mergers and acquisitions, private equity investment and portfolio management, valuation, financial analysis and business planning, structuring and taxation. 

Rachel is a great believer in the power of the network to help further Kiwi women’s careers and is passionate about helping the network grow and provide further opportunities Kiwis in London. She will be overseeing the finance function and is excited to be utilising her valuable skills in both financial oversight and investment. 

Brought up in Auckland, Rachel studied at the University of Auckland while also pursuing an initial career as a professional athlete, representing New Zealand in Badminton at the Commonwealth Games and qualifying for the Olympics in Beijing. She now spends less time on the court and more time running around after her husband and 2 year old daughter.

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